Henry VIII: The King Who Changed England Forever

Henry VIII is one of the most recognizable monarchs in English history. His six marriages, his dramatic break with the Roman Catholic Church, and the executions that took place during his reign have made him a figure of fascination for centuries. Yet Henry’s life was far more complicated than the popular image of an aging, ruthless king. As a young man, he was athletic, educated, musical, and never originally expected to become king.

Henry VIII was born on 28 June 1491 at Greenwich Palace in Greenwich, England. He was the second son of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York.

His birth represented something particularly important for the relatively new Tudor dynasty. Henry VII had won the English throne after defeating Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, bringing the Wars of the Roses toward their conclusion. His marriage to Elizabeth of York united the rival houses of Lancaster and York.

However, Henry was not originally expected to inherit the throne.

His older brother, Arthur, Prince of Wales, was the heir apparent. As the second son, young Henry received an extensive education and was prepared for a life that would have been very different from that of a king.

Henry studied subjects including Latin, French, theology, music, literature, and philosophy. He became an accomplished musician and enjoyed hunting, jousting, dancing, and other physical activities.

Then his future suddenly changed.

In November 1501, fifteen-year-old Arthur married Catherine of Aragon, the daughter of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile.

Only months later, Arthur became seriously ill.

He died on 2 April 1502 at Ludlow Castle, at just fifteen years old.

The death of his older brother transformed ten-year-old Henry into the heir to the English throne.

It also eventually placed Arthur’s widow at the center of Henry’s own future.

Following Arthur’s death, discussions began about marrying Catherine to Henry. Because Catherine had been married to Henry’s brother, the proposed marriage required a papal dispensation. Catherine maintained that her marriage to Arthur had never been consummated.

Years passed before the marriage finally took place.

Henry VII died on 21 April 1509, leaving the throne to his seventeen-year-old son.

Henry VIII became King of England.

Less than two months later, on 11 June 1509, Henry married Catherine of Aragon. Their joint coronation took place at Westminster Abbey on 24 June.

The young Henry VIII presented a very different image from the older king he would eventually become.

He was tall, athletic, energetic, and highly educated. He enjoyed extravagant celebrations, tournaments, hunting, music, and dancing. He was also deeply interested in religion and theology.

But behind the celebrations surrounding the new Tudor king was a serious political concern: Henry needed an heir.

More specifically, he wanted a legitimate son who could securely inherit the Tudor throne.

Henry and Catherine remained married for more than twenty years.

Their marriage produced several pregnancies, but most ended in miscarriage, stillbirth, or the death of the child shortly after birth.

One son, Henry, Duke of Cornwall, was born on 1 January 1511. His birth was celebrated throughout the kingdom, but the baby died less than two months later.

Then, on 18 February 1516, Catherine gave birth to a healthy daughter.

She was named Mary.

Mary survived, but Henry remained determined to have a legitimate male heir.

As Catherine grew older and the possibility of another successful pregnancy declined, Henry became increasingly concerned about the future of his dynasty.

By the mid-1520s, Henry had become attracted to Anne Boleyn, one of Catherine’s ladies-in-waiting.

Anne refused simply to become Henry’s mistress. Henry instead began pursuing the possibility of ending his marriage to Catherine so that he could marry Anne.

Henry argued that his marriage had never been valid because Catherine had previously been married to his brother. He increasingly focused on a biblical passage that appeared to condemn a man for marrying his brother’s wife.

Henry sought an annulment from Pope Clement VII.

The issue became known as the King’s Great Matter.

But obtaining an annulment proved far more difficult than Henry expected. Catherine’s nephew was the powerful Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, and the political situation in Europe complicated the pope’s position.

Years passed without Henry receiving the decision he wanted.

Eventually, Henry stopped waiting for Rome.

Henry’s desire to end his marriage helped produce one of the greatest religious and political transformations in English history.

Henry and Anne secretly married in January 1533.

Anne was already pregnant.

Later that year, Henry’s marriage to Catherine was declared invalid, while his marriage to Anne was recognized as legitimate.

On 7 September 1533, Anne gave birth.

Once again, the child was not the son Henry desperately wanted.

It was a daughter, Elizabeth, the future Elizabeth I.

Henry’s conflict with papal authority continued, and in 1534 Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy, recognizing Henry as the Supreme Head of the Church of England.

England’s relationship with the Roman Catholic Church was fundamentally changed.

Those who refused to accept Henry’s supremacy could face devastating consequences. Among the most famous was Sir Thomas More, Henry’s former Lord Chancellor, who refused to recognize the king’s supremacy over the Church.

More was executed in 1535.

The English Reformation continued, including the Dissolution of the Monasteries, during which monasteries, convents, and other religious houses were closed and their wealth and property transferred to the Crown or sold.

Anne’s position became increasingly dangerous when she failed to provide Henry with a surviving son.

After several pregnancies, including miscarriages, Henry’s attention shifted toward Jane Seymour, one of Anne’s ladies-in-waiting.

In May 1536, Anne was arrested.

She was accused of adultery with several men, as well as incest and plotting against the king. The credibility of the charges has been questioned extensively by historians, and Anne’s downfall is generally understood within the political pressures surrounding Henry’s court and his desire to end the marriage.

Anne was convicted and executed by beheading at the Tower of London on 19 May 1536.

She was approximately thirty-five years old.

Only eleven days later, Henry married Jane Seymour.

Jane accomplished something neither Catherine nor Anne had been able to give Henry: a surviving legitimate son.

On 12 October 1537, Jane gave birth to Prince Edward at Hampton Court Palace.

Henry finally had his male heir.

But the celebration was followed by tragedy.

Jane became seriously ill after childbirth and died on 24 October 1537.

Henry was deeply affected by her death. Of his six wives, Jane would later be the woman buried beside him.

Their son eventually became Edward VI.

Henry remained unmarried for more than two years before political considerations encouraged another marriage.

His fourth wife was Anne of Cleves, a German princess.

Henry had been shown a portrait of Anne painted by Hans Holbein the Younger before agreeing to the marriage. However, when Henry met her personally, he was reportedly disappointed.

They married on 6 January 1540.

The marriage lasted only six months.

Henry sought an annulment, and Anne cooperated rather than fighting him. Their marriage was annulled on 9 July 1540.

Unlike several of Henry’s other wives, Anne remained on good terms with him. She received property and financial support and became known as the king’s “beloved sister.”

She would ultimately outlive Henry and all of his other wives.

Henry’s fifth wife was the young Catherine Howard, a cousin of Anne Boleyn.

They married on 28 July 1540, only weeks after the annulment of Henry’s marriage to Anne of Cleves.

By this stage of his life, Henry was no longer the athletic prince of his youth. He had gained considerable weight and suffered from increasingly serious health problems.

Catherine was significantly younger than Henry.

Eventually, evidence emerged concerning Catherine’s relationships before her marriage and allegations that she had committed adultery after becoming queen.

She was stripped of her position and imprisoned.

On 13 February 1542, Catherine Howard was executed by beheading at the Tower of London.

Henry had now sent two of his six wives to the executioner’s block.

Henry married for the sixth and final time on 12 July 1543.

His final wife was Catherine Parr, an intelligent and well-educated widow.

Catherine developed relationships with Henry’s children, Mary, Elizabeth, and Edward, and played an important role in bringing the royal family together.

She was also deeply interested in religion and became a published author.

At one point, her religious views placed her in danger, and plans were reportedly made for her arrest. Catherine successfully reconciled with Henry and survived.

She became the wife who would outlive him.

The Henry VIII of his final years was physically very different from the handsome, athletic young king who had inherited the throne in 1509.

A serious jousting accident in 1536 is often considered an important turning point in his health. Henry was injured when his armored horse fell on him, and he reportedly remained unconscious for a period afterward.

He also developed chronic ulcers on his legs that caused significant pain and could become infected.

As his ability to exercise declined, Henry gained considerable weight. By the final years of his reign, his mobility had become severely limited.

His reign also became increasingly associated with executions, political suspicion, religious persecution, and harsh punishments for those considered traitors or heretics.

Among those executed during Henry’s reign were former friends, advisers, nobles, religious figures, and two of his queens.

Yet his reign also permanently transformed England.

The authority of the monarchy expanded, England separated from papal authority, monasteries were dissolved, royal finances and lands were dramatically altered, and the religious changes begun during Henry’s reign would continue to shape the country under his children.

By January 1547, Henry VIII’s health had deteriorated severely.

He was fifty-five years old and had ruled England for nearly thirty-eight years.

Henry VIII died at Whitehall Palace in London on 28 January 1547, on what would have been his father’s ninetieth birthday.

The exact cause of Henry’s death remains uncertain. Historians have suggested that his severe obesity, chronic leg ulcers, infections, cardiovascular problems, and other illnesses may all have contributed to his declining health.

He was buried at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, beside Jane Seymour.

Henry’s nine-year-old son succeeded him as Edward VI.

Henry VIII left behind three surviving legitimate children, Mary, Elizabeth, and Edward, and remarkably, all three would eventually sit on the English throne.

Edward VI ruled first, followed by Mary I and then Elizabeth I.

Henry VIII’s search for a secure Tudor succession had dominated much of his life, destroyed marriages, transformed England’s religion, and altered the lives of countless people.

Yet the son Henry had fought so desperately to obtain died at only fifteen.

It was his daughter Elizabeth, the child born to Anne Boleyn when Henry had hoped for a boy, who would ultimately become one of the most celebrated monarchs in English history.

Henry VIII died in 1547, but the political, religious, and dynastic consequences of his thirty-eight-year reign continued long after his death. His decisions helped reshape the English monarchy, transformed England’s relationship with the Catholic Church, and ensured that his name would remain one of the most famous and controversial in British history.